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Yesterday, the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW), the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) as well as the Afghan electricity supplier Da Afghanistan Bereshna Sherakat (DABS) inaugurated the new Database Management System for the Afghanistan Energy Information Portal (AEIP). This database will help stakeholders to track relevant information in the field of energy and thus potentially increase sector opportunities. The Afghan-German Cooperation’s programme for institutional development for energy in Afghanistan (IDEA) organised and financed setting up the database for the ministry at a total cost of more than AFN 3 million.

When opening the inauguration ceremony, the Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Gul Mohammad Khulmi emphasised: “I want to thank the German Cooperation with Afghanistan for supporting to develop the Afghanistan Energy Information Portal (AEIP) that is offering so much relevant information and thus going to be of use to so many stakeholders.

The Deputy Programme Director of the Afghan-German Cooperation’s programme for institutional development for energy in Afghanistan (IDEA), Zabiullah Tahirzada, added: “Free and open access to data and knowledge available to everyone has been a core priority for the Afghan government. Information on new renewable energy technologies can be found using the database as well – information that is of great importance.”

The database AEIP provides information on country energy profiles, energy statistics and a directory of relevant stakeholders. It also contains a search function and includes an extensive glossary explaining specific wording. Various stakeholders such as representatives from the government, the civil society, private companies, financial institutions, academia, etc. will use this database to set up projects, tenders, investment plans and much more.

Access to the latest information on renewables, energy efficiency and climate change is fundamental to accelerating the clean energy marketplace, facilitating investments, promoting new legislation and regulations. This information will help significantly to increase sector knowledge.

The Afghan government recognises energy as the primary driving force for economic development. The government has recently developed and launched a five-year power development plan to generate 500 megawatts of electricity via renewable energy sources. The database AEIP will significantly help relevant stakeholders to achieve this ambitious target.

On behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the programme Institutional Development for Energy in Afghanistan (IDEA) is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. IDEA aims at enabling Afghan society to access energy from renewable sources to boost economic growth, reduce poverty and protect the environment. IDEA cooperates with the Afghan Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) to implement various activities, creating general conditions for a reliable electricity supply. For example, IDEA has organised 21 conferences and workshops for private and public stakeholders on renewable energy, energy awareness and energy efficiency since 2015. At the same time, it has organised related job-specific training courses for almost 430 Afghans from the public and private energy sector.